Faith and a College World Series Championship

Enjoying the victory of her favorite college team, Tina Mayeux examines how faith and baseball are alike in many ways.

Baseball is one of America’s favorite summertime sports. Whether watching our kids play Little League or taking in a Major League game on television, many of us enjoy rooting for our favorite teams from the stands or from the comfort of a recliner at home. The excitement of watching our team score and cheering them on to victory can provide a thrilling adrenaline rush and serves as a welcome distraction from the cares and worries of our daily lives.

Fans of our family’s favorite college team, the LSU Tigers, were elated when the team recently won the Men’s College World Series and the National Championship title for the seventh time. The trip to the Championship was a hard-fought battle, but the Tigers triumphed in the end. The hard work and dedication of the players paid off, as they maneuvered past the Florida Gators in the final series.

Living out our faith can be likened to slugging it out on the baseball field in many ways.

Unity

Teamwork is an essential element in both baseball and Christian life. We are meant for fellowship and are called to be one with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The final games of the College World Series were anything but easy for the Tigers. However, they pulled together and supported one another in their quest for victory. In Game Two, the Tigers’ shortstop made several errors that threw the team off, and this, along with other factors, contributed to the devastating loss to the Gators in that second game. Rather than replacing the shortstop in Game Three, the LSU coach stood by him and kept him in for the final game, during which he bounced back and played excellently.

Similarly, we are called to walk with our brothers and sisters in Christ and to stand by them when they are down and facing difficulties rather than abandoning them and giving up on them. When we support and love each other, even when it is challenging to do so, we are united in Jesus as one body, just as He prayed that we would be. We may be the hands and feet that help to bring others back to Jesus, or to help them recover when they are facing hardships and difficulties.

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Singleness of Purpose and Dedication

To be successful in the athletic arena requires hard work, and to attain heaven is no less difficult and arduous. Just as practice and consistency lead to mastery on the baseball field, so do our daily habits of prayer and frequenting the sacraments help us to achieve sanctity. As St. Paul put it,

“Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)

Imitate the "Greats"

In both sports and Christianity, we imitate the “Greats,” observing their mastery and trying to follow their examples. Whether Babe Ruth or Mother Teresa, we can learn from those who excelled on the field and in the spiritual realm. In an interview, some of the LSU baseball players were asked to list their favorite Major League players—the ones they look up to for inspiration.

As the college players listed the more experienced professional baseball players they admire and look up to, so, too, can we pray for inspiration to discover the saints that inspire us in our spiritual journeys and look to them in order to grow and mature in the Faith. By reading about their lives and imitating their examples, we can learn how to best become the saints that we were meant to be and grow in union with Christ as they did. Just as athletes watch and admire the “Greats” of the game of baseball, we should keep our eyes on the heroes of the Faith and follow in their footsteps to the best of our ability and in keeping with our particular vocation.

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Living out our faith can be likened to slugging it out on the baseball field in many ways. #CatholicMom

As we enjoy the ballpark this summer, let us remember that we are engaged in a much greater and more consequential contest – that of the battle for heaven. We are called to unity and teamwork as Christians as we support each other on the way. We must practice discipline and be single-minded in our journey to heaven. And we have the wonderful example of the “Greats”—the saints, who are cheering us on as we strive for a victory here on earth and the promise of heaven hereafter.

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